Typically, a baby or small child (e.g., a toddler) will wear a diaper or a “diaper-like” product (e.g., a product which resembles a diaper in form and function but which is disposable), and such a product is effective to absorb the waste excretions which emanate from the baby or small child. After the excretions occur, the diaper or diaper-like product must then be cleaned or discarded and replaced with a new such product.
While the foregoing diaper or diaper-like products do effectively absorb waste excretions, they are relatively expensive to make, are relatively inconvenient to use, replace, and/or clean, and are relatively costly to use. Further, it is known that it may be psychological desirable to quickly train a child to use the bathroom and to allow the child to quickly use underwear, thereby obviating the need for a diaper or diaper-type product.
Additionally, while liner products do exist which obviate the need for diapers, such liner-type products do not adequately protect the outer garment (e.g., fully absorb the excretions or fully act as a protective barrier), and are awkward to use and dispose of. As with the diaper-type product, although wearing these types of liner products may help a child to quickly learn to wear “regular” underwear, it may be psychologically undesirable for the child to experience “accidents” or similar incidents which are associated with current liner-type devices.
Further, both the liner and the diaper-type products are generally offered in a range of “sizes” (e.g., small, medium and large). The concept of “sizes” of protective liners or garments (e.g., an entity having static and unchangeable dimensions) means that each type of garment or liner is usable by a limited range of wearers, namely, the wearers who are the correct “size” for the garment. There is therefore a need for a protective liner-type garment which obviates the need for the liner to have a static “size”, and which is therefore usable by a wide variety of wearers.
The present invention overcomes the previously delineated drawbacks associated with diaper and liner-type products, obviates the need for “sizes” and concomitantly allows a child to be quickly trained to use a conventional bathroom facility.